What's My Avatar?
Your avatar is the friendly portrait that shows up next to your name on listings, in messages, and on your shop page. Instead of posting a raw photo of yourself, ShopBroker generates a warm, illustrated portrait from a photo you upload. You get to show up as yourself without putting your actual face on a public marketplace.
You don't have to have an avatar. If you skip it, your initials will show instead. But buyers tend to feel more comfortable messaging sellers who have one.
How to Create Your Avatar
Log into your ShopBroker account
Go to My Shop and tap the settings icon
Tap Upload Photo to Create Avatar
Pick a clear, well-lit photo of yourself (a regular selfie works fine)
Wait about a minute while we generate your avatar
Compare your photo to the avatar preview, then tap Use as Profile Picture if you love it, or Try a Different Photo to start over
Creating an avatar helps buyers feel more confident because they see a consistent public profile image without seeing your private upload. Check Community Stars for the current program status.
What Makes a Good Photo
Clear face: make sure your face fills most of the frame
Good lighting: natural light works great, harsh shadows don't
One person: just you, no group shots
Relaxed expression: a smile helps, but anything warm works
No sunglasses or masks: the generator needs to see your features
Where Your Avatar Shows Up
Your avatar appears anywhere buyers or sellers see your name:
Listing detail pages
Your shop page
Messages and chat headers
Marketplace search results
Transaction details
> Your uploaded photo is private. Only the generated avatar is shown publicly. Nobody (not buyers, not other sellers, not your shop visitors) sees the original photo you uploaded. Think of your photo as the raw material for the avatar, not something you're posting.
Regenerating Your Avatar
Not loving the first attempt? Or maybe you want a fresh look later on? You can generate a new avatar after a short cooldown period. The app will tell you when your next one is available.
Go to profile settings
Tap Generate New Avatar
Upload a new photo
Review and save
If something goes wrong during generation (blurry photo, face not detected), you can retry right away. The cooldown only kicks in once you've saved an avatar.
> A little extra polish for verified sellers. Once you've completed seller verification, your avatar gets a soft green gradient background (a subtle signal to buyers that you're a trusted seller). If you verified after generating your avatar, we'll update the background automatically the next time you sign in.
Removing Your Avatar
Prefer to show your initials instead? Tap Remove Avatar in profile settings. This deletes your generated avatar and reverts to initials with your account colour.
If Something Goes Wrong
Here are the most common issues and how to fix them:
What you see | What to do |
"Couldn't find a clear face" | Try a photo where your face is front-and-centre |
"Multiple faces detected" | Use a solo photo, no friends or group shots |
"Photo quality too low" | Try a sharper, better-lit photo |
"You can generate a new avatar in X days" | Wait for the cooldown to finish |
"Avatar generation failed" | Try again in a few minutes (usually temporary) |
If you keep hitting the same error after a few tries, reach out to support and we'll take a look.
Privacy: What Happens to My Photo?
Your uploaded photo stays private. It's stored securely and never shown publicly.
Only the generated avatar is visible to other users.
Your photo stays on file so we can automatically update your avatar style if your seller status changes.
You can remove your avatar anytime from profile settings.
FAQ
Why doesn't ShopBroker just use my photo directly?
Sellers told us they wanted to look friendly and professional without posting a real photo to a public marketplace. Generated avatars keep things personal and warm while protecting your privacy.
Can I upload a photo that isn't me?
Your avatar should represent you. Buyers use it to recognize the same seller across different listings. Don't use a celebrity photo, a cartoon character, or someone else's picture. That breaks our community guidelines, and we'll remove the listing.
Does my avatar update if I change my hair or get glasses?
Not automatically. If you want a fresh avatar, regenerate it manually once the cooldown window opens.
I'm verified, so why didn't my avatar update to the green background?
Your verified style applies the next time you sign in. To apply it right away, sign out and back in.
Is the avatar AI-generated?
Yes. We use an AI image model with carefully-designed reference images and prompts so every avatar feels on-brand and looks like you.
Still Stuck?
Can't get an avatar to generate, or seeing something you didn't expect? Reach out to our support team at [email protected] and we'll help you sort it out.